


Out of the Woods

by SunshineShal13



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Aliens, F/M, Friendship, Mystery, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Fiction, Tenth Doctor Era, Walks In The Woods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26846932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineShal13/pseuds/SunshineShal13
Summary: After a new factory is built near the woods, strange things start happening. Riley Marshall is determined to get to the bottom of what's going on. What she doesn't realize is that it's a little more complicated than she suspects. And she'll maybe need some help from a certain Time Lord.
Relationships: Original Character/Original Character
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It was a crisp October day as i walked through one of the entrances of the massive woods that bordered Moutin Lake Park. Lacy, my 2 year old husky was with me, sniffing everything. My boots were crunching the leaves under my feet, as I breathed in the crisp fall air. I wasn’t here to enjoy the woods, as much as I wanted to.

I was a freelance investigative journalist. This woods had been the object of my story. First of all, there was a factory that had just recently been built close to the woods. I wasn’t sure what type of factory it was, but I knew that it had been a very bad idea to build it by the woods. I’d also heard talk of them taking this section of the woods out to expand the factory. Which was also a horrible idea, considering the amount of wildlife here. It would be disrupting the nature.

Second of all, strange things had been happening in the woods ever the factory had been built. People would run out of the woods, screaming that they'd seen weird creatures, or being grabbed by roots. There had also been stories of people disappearing in the woods.

I was the type of person who had always been interested in weird things and figuring out where they happened or why they were happening. Plus, I wanted to get to the bottom of this and find out what exactly was happening. This was concerning the entire city. No one had any answers, or at least if they did, they weren’t telling me. So, I’d taken it upon myself to check it out and find out the truth.

As soon as I walked into those woods, I shivered. My gut instinct was telling me that there was something really not right here. The birds were flying in a frenetic manner calling to each other, and the other animals were scurrying around in a panic. It wasn’t just that, though. Where there would normally be a breeze coming through the trees, there was nothing. It felt almost sinister to me. Lacy also apparently thought so, as her ears immediately went up, and she started growling a bit.

My brain was telling me to go back, but my gut and my heart were telling me to continue. I chose to listen to those. I couldn’t go back now. I needed to find out what was going on and expose whatever was happening. 

The ground I was walking on also felt off. It was almost soft and sponge-like. I bent down to feel it, and noticed that the amount of dying plants outweighed the living plants, which was odd. 

“What’s going on, hmm, Lacy? I asked her, scratching her behind her ears. She licked my hand. “Do you think we’re in a horror movie or what? Should we head back?”

Lacy barked and I took that as sign to stay.   
I heard a noise behind me. I turned around slowly, hoping that I wouldn’t have to scream. Luckily for me, there was no screaming involved. A man, a few feet behind me, was crouched down examining the ground. Like me, he seemed to be interested in the soil. 

“Interesting.” He said, probably to himself. I was almost certain he wasn’t aware that I was there. 

“I know, it’s weird, isn’t it?” I said, breaking him out of his thought. He jerked his head up and finally noticed me.

The man stood up, dusting off his pants. I was able to get a good look at him. He looked to be in his mid-late 30’s and wearing a long brownish trench coat over a brown pinstripe suit with slightly dirty looking off-white converses. A pair of glasses completed the look. He also had spiky brown hair and brown eyes. There was something about him that seemed different that from anyone else I’d met. I couldn’t seem to figure it out though.

Lacy, however had decided that she was going to figure him out. She tugged on the leash, and before I knew it, had pulled me over to the man, who clearly was amused by the whole thing. She barked a bit, and then sniffed him. After deeming him worthy, she wagged her tail happily and licked his hand. Which was odd behavior for her. She did like people, but it normally took time to warm up to them.

“Hello there.” He said cheerfully in a British accent, petting her head as she barked happily. “What’s your name, eh?”

“Oh, this is Lacy. And that is really unusual behavior for her.” I said. 

“Oh, really?” He asked. “Why’s that?”

“It normally takes her a bit of time to figure out if she likes someone or not, but she took instantly to you.” I said. “I’ve never seen her do this. She really likes you.”

“Must be a trustworthy person, then.” He said, grinning. 

I laughed. “Oh, sorry, I should introduce myself.” I said. “Riley Marshall.” I stuck out the hand that wasn’t holding the leash so that he could shake it. 

“Nice to meet you.” He said, shaking it. “I’m the Doctor.”

“The Doctor?” I asked, confused. “Doctor Who?”

“Just the Doctor.” He said, nonchalantly, like he got that question all the time. Which, he probably did. 

Really though, who just went around calling themselves the Doctor? It was very bizarre, to say the least. Not to mention, when I made eye contact with him, there was something about his eyes that struck me as odd. Physically, he didn’t look that old, but it seemed to me like there were centuries of wisdom in those eyes. Like he’d seen so much in such a short amount of time. Not to mention the fact that it looked like there was a deep sadness in his eyes. But those weren’t raising red flags in my mind, just general curiosity. 

“So, Miss. Marshall, what brings you here?” He asked, curiously.

I hesitated for a second. I wasn’t exactly undercover, but just in case he was employed by the factory, I didn’t want to say anything yet until I had talked to the CEO of the factory. Then again, Lacy trusted him enough to keep nudging him for pets and licking him, which she was currently doing. Plus, he didn’t seem the type who would be working at a factory. So, I decided to throw caution against the wind and tell him.

“I’m actually a freelance investigative journalist.” I started. “There was a factory that was just built near this woods and ever since it was built, strange things have been happening.”

“What kind of strange things?” He asked, his tone changing from mild curiosity to sounding even more interested. 

“Things like people going into the woods to hike and then not coming back. Or people coming here and then running out screaming because they were grabbed by a root.” I continued. 

“Also, I’ve heard that some people have fallen ill after being here. I mean, these things happening right after the factory opened can’t be a coincidence.” I sighed. “I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m just looking way too deep into it, it could be nothing, but my instincts are telling me that there’s something that’s not natural going on.”

“I don’t think you’re looking too deep into this.” The Doctor said. “In fact, I think you’re looking at it exactly the way you should.”

“So, you don’t think I’m crazy?” I asked. 

The Doctor shook his head. “Nope.” He said. “Always trust your instincts. Especially since your instincts seem to be right. There is something oddly unsettling here.”

“I thought so.” I said. “When I walked in here, it felt like there was something sinister going on, along with everything else. I just wish I knew how to start figuring out what’s going on.”

“Well, the first thing I think we have to do is to check out the factory. There’s bound to be something going on there.” The Doctor said.

“Hang on.” I said, trying to make sure I heard correctly. “‘We?’ You want to help me?” I asked.

“‘Course I do. Always love solving a good mystery.” The Doctor grinned.

Briefly I wondered why he would want to help. Who was he? I’d already figured out that he wasn’t from here, given his accent. So then, why was he invested in this mystery? There wasn’t anything to gain from him being involved. However, I wasn’t going to stop him from helping, whoever he was. I probably needed all the help I could get. 

“Thanks.” I said, slowly. “I guess I should have asked this eariler, but what are you doing here? I mean, obviously you weren’t planning on helping a woman solve a mystery in the woods.”

“Just stumbled upon this woods and decided to take a walk. Lovely day for it.” He said, cheerfully. “

I looked at him carefully. I was getting the weird feeling that he wasn’t being entirely truthful, especially since I’d discovered him checking out the soil like it was no big deal. Eventually I would hopefully find out what he was doing there for real, but for now, I suddenly remembered I had to get a soil sample for Levi, my geologist friend.

Levi had told me to get a sample of soil while I was here so he could test the soil levels and see if there were any chemicals seeping in, which would tell us whether it was from the factory.

“Ahh, soil sample. Smart.” The Doctor said approvingly as I took a spade and a tube out of the backpack I was carrying and dug up some soil to put in the tube. 

“Gotta cover all of my bases.” I said, capping up the sample and putting everything back into the backpack. “I need to get this to my geologist friend to test it.” 

“That’s brilliant thinking.” The Doctor said, grinning. “So, how about that factory meeting?” He asked. 

“Why don’t you meet me there in about 2 hours.” I said, as we headed back to the parking lot. “I need to drop Lucy off at the house and then drop the soil sample to my friend.

“Sounds like a good plan to me.” The Doctor agreed. 

I put Lacy in the back of my car as I waved to the Doctor. As I got into the front seat and drove off, it occurred to me that my car had been the only car in the parking lot.


	2. Chapter 2

After dropping off Lacy, I drove to where Levi worked. I’d known Levi for a few years, and he was one of my best friends. When I told him about my suspicions, he immediately handed me the test tube and told me that he’d help me in any way.

I got out of my car and after walking into the building, and telling the receptionist that I wanted to see Levi, I was told to go up to see him. I found him in one of the labs, looking at what appeared to be a geode. He was pretty absorbed in his work and didn’t hear me until I cleared my throat.

He looked up and took off his googles, grinning. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked, his sandy colored beard, moving as he talked. 

“I’ve got something for you.” I said, holding up the test tube.

He came out from behind the table to get a closer look. “Is this the sample from Moutin Lake park?” He asked in excitement.

“It is, indeed.” I said.

“Perfect.” He said, storing it in an area he could get to later. “So, did you discover anything?” He asked.

I sighed. “I can’t really describe it, but when I walked into the woods. It just felt very foreboding and sinister. It just creeped me out.”

“What? Like you felt it was haunted?” He asked.

“No. Not haunted, but like there was something else in the woods. Something that was apparently scaring the animals and made Lacy start sniffing the ground and growling.”

“Well, if Lacy sensed something, then there has to be something going on in there.”

I sighed again and tapped my fingers on the table. “I just wish I could figure out what though. But, interestingly enough, Lacy also made a new friend.

At that, Levi raised an eyebrow. He knew about Lacy warming up to people. It had taken her some time to warm up to him, but now she loved him. So, even he knew it was very unusual for her.

“Go on.” He said, sounding interested.  
I told him all about meeting the Doctor. How he seemed extremely interested in what was going on as well as the factory. And how he was planning on joining me to talk with the CEO, or at least someone in charge. 

“He was a really nice man, but there’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, sounding suddenly concerned. “Like he’s going to kill you or something?!”

“No, no! Nothing like that.” I said, trying to reassure him. He seemed visably more calm after that. “There’s something almost mysterious about him.”

“So do you know what he was doing there?” Levi asked. “Or what he does.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “He said he was just exploring. And no, I don’t know what he does. Might find that out when I meet up with him, though.”

I looked at my phone and realized that it was time to leave. “Speaking of meeting up, I have to get to the factory. Text or call me about the soil sample.” I called over my shoulder as I started to walk out the door.

“Will do!” He called back. “Good luck!”

I waved as I walked out the door and back out to the parking lot. I drove to the factory, silently praying that we would be able to get some answers as to what was going on. If the factory had chemicals that were seeping through the ground, that might explain why the ground felt off. But, it wouldn’t explain the disappearances.

There were a few parking spots up front, and I grabbed one of them. Parking the car, I noticed the Doctor had gotten there first. He was casually leaning against the wall, one pinstriped leg crossing the other one. I could tell that he was twirling something in his hand, but he quickly put it away in his pocket when he saw me. Now that was unusual, but I brushed it off. 

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked, walking up to him.

“Not that long.” He replied “Just arrived a few minutes before you did, actually.”

“Good to know.” I said. 

I looked up at the imposing building, suddenly forgetting everything I had planned to ask. I was nervous. This was one of the most investigative stories I’d done for anyone and I didn’t want to get it wrong. Now I was worried. What if there wasn’t anything wrong? What if I accused the wrong people? I was starting to doubt my own abilities here.”

The Doctor noticed my sudden nervousness.

“Alright there?” He asked. 

“I’m just really nervous all of a sudden.” I said, “I’m worried about accusing the wrong people. I mean, what if it’s just natural, what’s happening to the woods? What if I write the story and it gets published and the wrong people get in trouble? Then all of my journalist integrity along with my credibility gets thrown out the window and no one hires me anymore because I made one little mistake.” I said, in one breath.

The Doctor turned me around to face him and put his hands on my shoulders. “I think you may be overthinking this just a bit.” He said. “First of all, the only thing we’re doing is asking questions.. Second of all, I’ve read some of your articles.”

“You have?” I asked, surprised. “Since when did you have time to do that?

“While I was waiting for you.” He said. “And you’re quite a brilliant writer. “

“I, um, thanks.” I said, blushing. 

“The point is, I think you need to let everything happen in its course.” He said. 

I sighed. “You’re right. I got overwhelemed with everything and started overthinking. One thing at a time.”

“Right. Now, why don’t we head in there and see what they’re up to.” He said.

“Actually, before we go in, I wanted to ask you something.” I said. “What, exactly do you do?”

“Ohh, I just travel around and such.” He said, vaguely, waving his hand. 

I raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly an answer. I mean, it was, but not exactly the answer I wanted, or was expecting. 

“Yeah, but I mean what do you do for a living?” I asked. “Are you a traveling professor or something. You strike me as a professor type.”  
He looked amused at that statement. Almost as if he’d been asked that many times before. 

“You could say that.” He said with a grin. 

I was getting slightly frustrated by the vague responses, or lack of responses, he was giving to me. But one way or another, I was going to find out what he did.

“You know, eventually you’ll have to tell me what you do. This whole skirting around the question isn’t going to work forever.” I said in an annoyed voice as we walked into the building.

He just chuckled at that, making me even more frustrated. I quelled my frustration, however, as we walked to the front receptionist desk. 

“Yes, Hi. I’m Riley Marshall,, and investigative journalist and this is the Doctor, my assistant. We’re here to ask some questions to the CEO of this factory.” I said.

The Doctor looked highly offended at that. Well, that’s what he got for not telling me what he did. 

“Mr. Markson is about to go in a meeting.” The receptionist said, typing something into her computer. “And I’m sorry. He doesn’t take walk-ins. Would you like to make an appointment.

“Well, you see, we don’t really have time to make an appointment.” The Doctor said. “It’s about the woods near your lovely factory here.”

The receptionist went white as a sheet. Clearly, that was a hot topic here. “Um, well, I’m sorry, but you really must make an appointment. He’s a very busy man.”

“I’m sure he is, but this is a very important matter that needs to be dealt with since it involves his factory and the woods. That people take hikes in, I might add.” I said in a stern voice. “And I don’t think he’d take strongly to me writing about this facility in a negative manner.” I said, showing her my journalist credentials. 

“Let me see if he can squeeze you in.” She said, her demeanor changing again. 

She got up from her chair and knocked on the door behind her. After a “Come in,” she went in.

“Assistant?!” The Doctor said in an affronted voice. “I have never been someone’s assistant!”  
“Well, that’s what you get when you don’t tell me what you do. You can’t keep it a secret for long. Eventually, I have to find out.” I said, giving him my best challenging look.

He just shook his head, but I could have sworn I heard him say. “Why are they always so stubborn?” under his breath. 

Before I could ask what he’d said, the receptionist came back.

“Mr. Markson said that he would be willing to see you. However this meeting will take a while, and he wouldn’t want you to waste your time waiting.” She reported, clearly trying to dissuade us. I wasn’t having it, though, and neither was the Doctor.

“We’ve got all the time in the world, don’t we, Riley?” He asked me. plopping down on one of the brown suede chairs and stretching his long legs out.

I joined him on the other chair. “For this, absolutely.” I said, crossing my arms. “We’ll stay for as long as it takes for us to clear this up. He shouldn’t be worried if there’s nothing to hide.”

“Nice one!” The Doctor whispered to me.

“I have my moments.” I said, grinning.

The receptionist sighed again in defeat. She knew she wasn’t going to win this one. “Fine, I’ll let him know.” She disappeared and came back a second later. 

“Ok, he’ll come out after he’s finished.” She said in a brusque voice and went back to her work. 

We sat there for a while, waiting for Mr. Markson to see us. I wasn’t sure how long we waited, but I was perfectly fine. The Doctor, however was not. I could tell that he was used to moving around a lot and not sitting down for this amount of this. He was restless. He kept standing up and looking around, or stretching his legs.

I held back a laugh as I checked my texts. One was from Levi. It said:  
Got the results from the soil sample. Call me when you’re finished with the meeting. We need to meet.

Got it. I texted back. Call you after. Wish us luck.

You got this! You’re the best journalist I’ve ever known. He texted back.

I sent him a tongue emoji. And I think you’re full of it, but thanks. 

“Ok, well Levi has the results of the sample. Hopefully it’s good news.” I said.

“Aww. I’m sure it will be.” The Doctor said. There was something in his voice that suggested otherwise.

The door behind the receptionist opened and we stood up, ready to meet the CEO and hopefully get some answers.


	3. Chapter 3

As Mr. Markson walked closer to us, I got a good look at him. He had that “rich” look to him. He wore a very expensive looking black 3 piece suit with polished brown shoes. His black hair was swept back with hair gel and he had icy blue eyes. He looked to be in his late 30’s or so. 

“Well, Miss. Marshall, what can I do for you today?” He asked in a polite voice with just a tinge of annoyance beneath it. 

“As your receptionist must have told you, I’m investigating the strange occurance in the woods near this factory with my colleague here. I’m sure you’ve heard all about it, especially those people who’ve gone missing.” I said. “Not to mention the soil.”

“Miss. Marshall, I can assure you that none of that has anything to do with this factory.” He stated, those icy blue eyes boring into me. It was very unsettling. “We make sure that all of 

“Welll, that may be the case. However, it’s a very interesting coincidence that all of the disappearences started happening right after you built this factory.” The Doctor said, casually. “And factoring in the unnourished plants that are supposed to get nourishment from the soil, which is defininently a strange texture. Seems to me like there’s something you’re not telling us.” He said.

“Look, all of those are mere coincidences.” Mr. Markson said. “Our factory is 100% environmentally friendly. There are no chemicals used in any of our products. If the soil is off, it’s because someone else is dumping chemicals, not us. And I can also assure you our staff has all been interviewed. No one has been stolen from anywhere.”

“Interesting that you claim that none of your staff were stolen or abducted when I didn’t even accuse you of being the one to take all of the people who disappeared.” I said.

I knew I had got him when his face went white. He narrowed his eyes.

“If you two don’t leave right now, I’m calling security to personally escort you out. I will not be accused of taking people or putting chemicals in soil. And if you relase that article, I will personally see to it that you are sued for false accusations about me.” He said in a threatening voice, looked at me.

I just stared right back at him. “I gave a soil sample to a very respected geologist and the results just came back. If any of it comes back with anything other than what’s supposed to be in the soil. I will personally make sure that this factory is shut down and you’ll be investigated.” I said in a low voice glaring at him.

Before he could call security, the Doctor and I bolted out the door. I was now almost certain that there was a correlation between the factory and the woods.

“So we’re both in agreement that he’s probably the one causing damage to the woods?” I asked.

“That would be correct.” The Doctor said. “You were quite brilliant there.” He said.

“Well, I had to be. I had to show him that I wasn’t going to let him walk over me.” I said, as I took my phone out of my pocket to call Levi.

“Hey.” He answered when I called. “Can you guys meet me at the lab?” He asked.

“Yeah.” I said. “Did you find anything?”

“Get over here and see for yourself.” He replied.

“Ok. See you soon.” I said and hung up. 

The Doctor noticed the slightly weary expression on my face. “Found something, then?” He asked.

“It sure sounded like it. He said to meet him at the lab. And I should probably give you directions.” I said.

“Ah, I’ll be alright. I’m sure I can find it.” He said.

I looked at him strangely. “You sure?” I asked. “I don’t want you getting lost.”

“Oh yeah.” He said, sounding very sure of himself. “I’ve got an excellent sense of direction.”

“Ok.” I said slowly. “I guess I’ll see you there.”

As I walked back to the car, I noticed something slightly strange. The Doctor was walking around to the back of the building. I wondered why he’d parked there of all places as I got into my car. Very odd behavior indeed. 

Eventually, I got to the lab and got out of my car, only to see the Doctor outside. I shook my head. He had to have left before me. Not to mention the fact that since I probably knew where I was going better than he did, I should’ve gotten here before him.   
“How did you-?” I started, than shook my head. “Never mind.” I said.

“I told you, I’m great with directions.” He said, grinning.

“But I left before you, there’s no way you could’ve gotten here before me.” I said, confused.

“Shortcuts.” He said simply.

“Ok. Sure.” I said, not believing him. Because I knew the shortcuts and I took the shortcuts. “You know, I will figure you out eventually.” I said, as we headed inside. 

“Well, you can try, but trust me when I say that people have been trying that for centuries and it never works out for them.” He said.

I laughed. He had to be joking, right? No one would be centuries old. Unless they were immortal, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t. Or so I thought.

We headed to the lab where Levi was. From the small window on the door, I noticed that he had a perplexed expression on his face. I’d seen his perplexed expression before, but this was a different type of perplexion. This was the “I really have no idea what’s going on and I don’t think I will ever be able to figure it out.” perplexion face.

He looked up when I opened the door.

“Hey. Glad you guys could finally make it.” He said as we walked over. He noticed the Doctor. “Oh, hey. You must be that Doctor guy Riley was telling me about.”

“Well, actually it’s the Doctor, but yes I am.” He said, shaking Levi’s hand. “So what seems to be the problem?” He asked, taking charge.

Levi looked at me, confused and I shrugged my shoulders. “Uh, well, you might not like it.” He warned as we walked over to the table. 

“Can’t be worse than what we just went through with the CEO of the factory.” I said.

“What happened?” Levi asked.

“Oh, you know. Threatened to pursue legal action if I spread lies about him even though we are almost certain that it is the factory that’s involved.”

“Well, I hate to add to that, but I think it just did get worse.” Levi said.

I groaned. “Just tell me what you found.” I said.

“I tested the soil sample and, there is definitely something wrong with the soil.” He said.

“Well I’m not surprised about that.” I said. “So what’s the chemical?”

“This is the weird part. It came out as being affected by a chemical. But, the thing is, um, it’s not a chemical.”

I stared at him. “Ok, let me try to comprehend what you’re saying. There’s something in there, but it’s not an obvious thing like a chemical. So what is it?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” Levi said. “I literally tested it for every concievable mineral or chemical known to man, but nothing is coming. It’s almost like it’s not from earth.”

I stared at him again. How could this be possible? There was no reason for it not to be from earth. This investigation was becoming odder by the moment and I was frusturated I wasn’t getting any answers. 

“Can you test it again?” I asked desperately.

“I’ve tested it like 100 times and they all came back with the same results. I’m telling you I can’t find out what it is.” Levi said. “I’m just as baffled as you are.”

I wanted to bang my head on the desk. There was no way this was happening. How was I supposed to write this article without understanding what was in the soil.

“Mind if I check the soil?” The Doctor asked. 

Levi handed him the tube. “Be my guest, but you probably won’t find anything that I haven’t found.”

“Maybe not, but it doesn’t hurt to check, now, does it?” The Doctor asked.

He put his glasses back on and looked at the tube carefully. It was a while before he actually spoke.

“Well, it’s definitely not human chemicals. I can tell you that.” He said, almost sounding triumph. 

“So what, if it’s not human, than what is it?” I asked. “Alien?”

He was silent as he looked at me. In that moment, I knew. I knew that somehow I was right. My jaw dropped. Next to me, Levi almost knocked over a pile of rocks.

“Wait, it is alien?!” I gasped. “No. No way.”

“Yes way.” The Doctor said. “The question is, where is it from? I think I can figure that out. Come on!”

He bolted out of the room as we tried to catch up with him. 

“Wait!” I yelled. “Where are we going?!”

Either he didn’t hear me, or he was choosing to ignore me as we continued following him out of the building.

“Where’s he taking is?” Levi panted.

“I have no idea.” I said.

Eventually we ended up by a battered wooden blue box that was by the building. “Police Public Call Box” was written at the top with what looked to be some kind of light at the top top. It didn’t look like it would fit that many people, but yet here the Doctor was running into it.

“Do we go into it?” Levi whispered.

“I don’t know. It looks too small to fit all of us.” I whispered back.

I was still very confused as to what was going on. But, my instincts were telling me to trust my heart. And my heart was telling me to get in there. Somehow, this was a huge clue as to who the Doctor was. 

“I have this feeling that we need to go in.” I said. 

“Ok, I guess I’ll trust you.” Levi said, even though it sounded like he didn’t trust me.

I cautiously pushed open the door with Levi behind me. As I entered, I stopped in my tracks and gasped. I was not expecting that.

“Ry, why the heck did you- Oh. Ok.” Levi said, staring at the inside the same way I was.


	4. Chapter 4

The inside was not what I was expecting at all. It was massive. And we’re not talking massive as in the normal massive when you think a shed is smaller than it is but it’s just a little bigger. No. This was much more than that. The walls were a slight golden color with what looked to be thousands of holes in them. In the center, there appeared to be a console looking thing with a long tube that was pulsating with blue light. Surrounding that were buttons and knobs all over. The whole room was lit up in a cozy orangish yellow glow.

There was also a monitor, which the Doctor was busy looking at. Actually, it looked like he was trying to scan the soil sample while muttering to himself. He seemed to have forgotten about us. Not that we were doing anything to make ourselves known. Levi and I were standing speechless, staring at everything. I think it was safe to say that he wasn’t a professor.

Eventually, he looked up and remembered that we were there. 

“Well?” He asked, a grin on his face.

“I um, uh.” I stammered, trying to get the words out. 

“I think what Riley is trying to say is that it’s, well, it’s uh, bigger than we were expecting.” Levi said, echoing my thoughts as he gently removed my hand from his arm. I’d unknowingly been gripping his arm.

“Well, that’s a new one.” The Doctor said to himself. “It’s called the TARDIS.” He said, proudly.

Levi and I stared at him in shock and confusion. First the soil had some traces of alien mineral, and then walking into this, which was apparently called a TARDIS, whatever that was. 

“The what?” I finally got out.

“TARDIS.” He repeated. “Time and Relative Dimension in space. It travels anywhere through time and space.” 

“Ok, you definitely aren’t a professor, are you.” I said faintly. 

Questions were starting to get answered for me. Why he’d skirted around the whole question of who he was. Why he’d gotten to the lab before me. And why he’d been in the woods the same time I had been. Everything was starting to connect in my brain. 

“Nope.” He said. “I’m a Time Lord. From the planet Galifrey.” 

Now, his grin didn’t entirely meet his eyes. And now it was all making sense to me. Why His eyes betrayed his youthful look. Why they looked so ancient and wise. And there was an even deeper sadness to them than before. Now that we’d figured out that he was an alien, clearly he was a lot older than he looked. 

“Whoa.” Levi said quietly. “So you really are an alien.”

“I am.” The Doctor said. “You two are handling this surprisingly well.”

“I mean, I can’t speak for Levi, but I’m not sure how else to handle it.” I said.

“Personally, I think I’m doing better than you are.” Levi said, smirking. “At least I could form sentences- Ow!” He yelled as I smacked him on the arm. 

“Well, that’s what you get for being rude.” I said, glaring at him. 

“That really hurt.” He said, rubbing his arm. “Between that and you gripping my arm, I’m surprised I don’t have bruises.”

“Ok. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t hard.” I said.

“Anyways.” The Doctor said, clearing his throat.

“Uh, right.” I said. “Like I was saying. After the inital shock, of everything, it’s actually quite exciting.”

“I’d agree with that.” Levi said.

It really was. I’d always thought there had to be something out there besides us. This universe was too big for there not to be. Plus, the strange occurances happening for years. Those had to be aliens. Considering they came from the sky and tried to attack us. I did think it was odd how they would just disappear like that. Someone had to have been stopping them. Saving earth. 

I then thought back to eariler when I was in the woods and ran into the Doctor. How he’d been so invested in helping me find out what was going on. And how he’d come with me to the factory to confront Mr. Markson. And now, how he’d figured out that there was something alien in the soil that was making it so unusuable. I wondered. Was he the one who was saving earth every time something came and tried to attack it? It’d be an awfully weird coincidence. I caught Levi’s eye and knew he was thinking the same thing I was. 

“I do have one question.” I said, curious. “What led you to here? I mean, there had to have been some reason why you were at the exact same place I was when we met.”

“Welll, I was intending to go to the planet Spectra to see the silver seas there, but I ended up here. Which means that the TARDIS tracked a signal in the woods.” The Doctor said. 

“So that's why you were in the woods.” Levi said. “And why you were so intent on helping Riley with her story.”

“Actually, Riley’s helped a lot.” The Doctor said. “Her knowledge of what’s been going on led me to further delve into this with her, especially the idea of going to the factory. And to answer your question, No, Mr. Markson is not an alien. He’s 100% human.”

I opened my mouth. “How did you know I was going to ask that?!” I asked in surprise.

“It is a logical question to ask, given the circumstances.” He said. “But that does beg the question of where he got the alien minerals.”

“Wait, but don’t you know where it’s from?” Levi asked. 

“Not yet.” The Doctor said, going back to the monitor. “All the places I’ve scanned for have come up negative.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. 

“Ok, disregarding the scans right now since you don’t know where it’s coming from, does this mean that Markson is working with an alien?” I asked, not believing the words that were coming from my mouth.

“It appears so.” The Doctor said.

“But why?” Levi asked. “What would compel him to betray the human race like that?”

The Doctor shrugged. “My guess is that whoever is working with him, offered him something in return for his help.”

“Well, it must have been something big. Personally, he strikes me as someone who always wants more than they have.” I said.  
“Hang on, what did you say his name was?” Levi asked.

“Markson. Didn’t get a first name, though.” I said.

“That name sounds really familiar. Let me look it up.”

Levi took his phone from out of his pocket, and started to type something. Furrowing his brow, he scrolled down until he found what he was looking for.

“I knew that name sounded familiar!” He said victoriously. “He’s the owner of Markson industries. They make household cleaning products.

“He said that they made their products without chemicals. So then where do those chemicals come in?” I asked.

“They must’ve offered him some type of deal with their chemicals.” The Doctor surmised.

“You mean like offering him something in return for using their chemicals in the products?” I asked, realization hitting me.

“Exactly!” The Doctor said, grinning.

I’d never seen anyone this excited over something that could possibly be catastrophic. Then again, I was finding that the Doctor wasn’t just anyone. I was finding out a whole different side of the world.

“That still doesn’t explain the missing people.” Levi said. “Where do they fit into all of this?”

“The only theory we can come up with is that they’ve been kidnapped by them, and they’re being forced to work for him.” I said. 

Everything was starting to come together. As odd as it was. All the clues pointed us to where we needed to go. The only puzzle left was who this alien being was. 

“It just makes me wonder how someone could betray humans like that. This is our planet. Who knows how long it will take for it to spread everything and ruin all of the nature.” I said. 

How greedy did you have to be to want to destroy an entire woods There was already enough damage as it was. It made no sense to me. Ok, nothing made sense to me right now, but that especially.  
“We’re not giving them a chance to ruin anything else.” The Doctor said with certainty in his voice. “Because I’m going to stop them.”

“Just you?” I asked, putting a hand on my hip. “Who’s the one who figured out that there was something going on when she was in the woods before you, I might add. AND, who’s also the one who discovered something in the soil.”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one who’s going to save this town. We also live here, you know.” Levi said.

“Ok, ok. We’re going to stop them.” The Doctor said in a defeated voice. “Is that better?” He asked.

“Yes, Yes it is. Did you really think you were going to stop this on your own?” I asked. 

“Really should remember how stubborn you lot are. Always refusing to give up. That’s one of things I like about your species.” He said, finally conceding.

“Well, why should we?” Levi asked. “We only have one planet, and our city is where we live. We can’t just let one crazy person and an unknown alien try to destroy it.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I just said that like it was a normal thing to say.”

I laughed. “Well, this is our normal thing. At least for right now.”

Suddenly, I let out a huge yawn. I’d been up since 6 AM and it was now almost 8.  
How had the day gone by that fast? I hadn’t even realized that I hadn't eaten anything since morning either until my stomach let out a slight growl.

“Well, this is going to take a while.” The Doctor sighed, furrowing his brows as he continued to look on the monitor. “Might take all night.”

“Ok, well if that’s the case, I hope no one minds that I’m going to head back home and eat and sleep before I keel over.” I said. 

“That’s probably a good idea.” Levi agreed.

“Um, so since I’ve never been in this situation before, do we just want to meet back at the woods tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” The Doctor said. “Hopefully I’ll have some indication of what species this is.”

“Ok, so I guess we’ll see you at, what, 6?” I asked, ignoring Levi’s glare that he was sending me.

“Perfect time!” the Doctor said. “See you then!”

We waved and walked out of the TARDIS. The sun had gone down about half an hour ago, so the only light illumanating the bulilding were the moon and the street lamps. Levi waited until we were close to the parking lot when he started yelling at me.

“6 AM?! Are you kidding me?!” He yelled. “You know it’s a saturday and I sleep in!”

“Well, I want to get a start on this!” I protested. “Look, it’s not every day that you find out that not only do aliens actually 100% exist, but that one of our own kind has teamed up with one to do who knows what with the city.” I said.

“Yeah I get that, but 6? Isn’t that too early. The sun won’t even be up.” Levi tried to reason with me, but I wasn’t budging.

“Either you meet us at 6 am at the woods, or you don’t get to help. Your choice.” I said, facing him. I knew what his answer would be. He loved solving mysteries. 

Just as I suspected. He sighed. “Ok, fine. I’ll be here at 6, but you owe me.” 

I grinned at my victory. “Ok. I’ll take you out to dinner after all of this is over. Now, speaking of dinner, I’m going to eat something and hit it.” I said.

“You’ll be ok driving home, right? I know today’s been crazy.” Levi asked, cocerned.

“I’ll be fine.” I said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll be the one chugging a billion thermoses of coffee.” He said.

“As long as you're there.” I called as I walked to my car.

Driving home gave me a chance to think over everything that had happened. In just one day. Literally. My life had changed in just one day. I was still working through finding out that there was something alien going on. Not only that, but meeting a real life alien who was set on saving this city. A city that he had no claim to.

Which, made me wonder why he was doing it. Judging by the determination he’d had when he’d be talking about it, it seemed like he did this all the time. Life was certainly strange, but I knew I had to continue fighting for what was right, even if it meant putting all my fears on the table.


End file.
